Daniel Chapter 12:2–13

In reading this chapter, one is struck with the particular character of .the book, and more especially, with the care which God evinces to comfort, or rather to shew the most entire sympathy with the remnant, in the afflicting circumstances in which they are found.

It is certain that Daniel still remained in captivity at Babylon, (which, indeed, it appears he never left,) when the remnant had returned to Jerusalem. So that typically he far more represents the state of the people in captivity under the Gentiles, than the prophet of the people, when God was acknowledging them. (/)

It is quite true that the remnant will escape at last; but this Daniel saw afar off. He represents specially the suffering remnant, and the sympathies of God with them. We find in other prophets, as Isaiah and Zechariah, magnificent promises for this remnant to whom the Lord will reveal Himself, when Christ has appeared: He shall make” the house of Judea as his

(/) It is worthy of remark, that in the prophets of the first captivity, God by the Spirit, never calls Israel my people:” He declares they shall be, and the Spirit remains among them as when they came up out of Egypt; but “Loammi” remains unrccalled. goodly horse in the battle,” and “he that is feeble among them shall be as David.” Zech. x, 3; xii, 8. There we see the power of God in manifestation among the people at Jerusalem; but it is not so in Daniel. The last thing we see here relative to Jerusalem, is that the king of the north “plants his tabernacles in the glorious holy mountain.” There is no detail in this book of the subsequent full and remarkable deliverance; but it is rather occupied with the Jewish remnant in the land, beaten by the tempest of the Gentile monarchies.

Upon the other hand, there is still the sympathy of God with them; but He is not with His people after an evident manner; for they are still in captivity; and it is rather an intervention of providence, in a hidden way, which delivers and secures, in the midst of trials and difficulties. Compare Ps. xliv, 10, 11, where this state of things is described.

Daniel xii, 1. “And at that time shall Michael stand up,” &c.; he appears to be the prince of the angels, or the archangel. It is a custom to speak of archangels, but the Word of God mentions only one, the chief of the angels. I am silent as to who it is, because the Scripture is; but however this may be, the intervention is a providential angelic one. Michael is there, in relationship with the people of Israel. By this passage we learn who it is that will stand for the children of Daniel’s people, as well as the excellency of this angelic power which God in His providence employs. “Who standeth for the children of thy people.” It is a time of trouble, as we have seen, and herein consists the difference of God’s acting, as I have just considered it. There is now a providence of God, which is a concealed government; but hereafter there will be a manifest and public rule by Christ, when every thing will appear, — a government direct from God. There is now a government of arrangement by “which all things are made to u work together for good to them that love God,” and for the accomplishment of His purposes; but this action is usually a concealed one. In Esther we have a remarkable instance. The name of God is not found in the book; the Spirit has wished to shew, that whilst the Jews were in captivity God had His eyes upon them; but that He acted in a hidden manner, and would not name Himself in their midst.

In the time of Michael it will be a time of distress This is the second thought in the chapter, and it is the ’ same in Jeremiah xxx, 7. There could be but one such time, — none is to be like it, — “For the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” Joel ii, 11. Nevertheless it is the day of deliverance for Israel. “Strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: but they shall serve the Lord their God, and David their king,” (Christ) .... “but I will not leave thee altogether unpunished.” Jer. xxx, 8, 9, 11. These promises have evidently never yet had their fulfilment; for it will be a final deliverance.

The same time is alluded to in Matt, xxiv, 21. “For there shall be great tribulation .... and except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved,” <fec., &c. This is the terrible distress which is to come upon Israel at the last. Consult also Mark xiii, 19, for the same account It all occurs at Jerusalem, where the abomination of desolation will be set up, or in its vicinity. In Luke xxi, 22, 24, there is a certain difference, as we shall see presently.

Daniel xii, 1. “At that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” These are the elect: the days are shortened on their account, otherwise no flesh would be saved. Jerusalem would have been as Sodom or as Gomorrah, except the Lord had left a very small ?^mltf%^^vv Bom. ix.

Verse 2. “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. The angel, as it appears to me, speaks in this place of the deliverance of the people brought back from among the Gentiles.” Many of them,” &c.; it is only a question of the people of Daniel, (tn) No doubt judgments will fall upon the Gentiles, but in speaking of those with whom God is more immediately occupied, as the object of His thoughts, the people of Daniel are only intended. I recall to your minds Dan. x, 14, “For I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days.” The fulfilment of this declaration is taken up in chap, x, xi, xii. “Many of them which sleep,” namely, a multitude of Jews in general, but not all, will appear on the scene.; as for some, it will be “to everlasting life,’* and as to others, “to shame and everlasting contempt,”

The expression, “dust of the earth,” is common in the writings of the prophets, when a person is in captivity and overwhelmed, as in Isaiah xxvi, 11. In pronouncing judgment upon the nations, the pro* phet says, “They are dead (those who despised the Jews, “other lords besides thee have had dominion over us,”) they are deceased .... therefore thou hast visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.” But in ver. 19, speaking of the Jews,

(m) It seems to me that these words are added to complete the picture: for the principal part of the prophecy is occupied with the details of that part of the people who are found in the land when the wicked one shall be in the exercise of his terrible and malicious power. But in this verse the lot Of those who ‘had been lost and were to be gathered from among the nations, is given to us. These only enter as accessory into the scheme of the prophecy: this portion of the people having been without the limits of the prophecy, not having entered into the land to figure as the Jewish people. It is for this reason that they are represented as ‘* sleeping in the dost of dearth”

“thy dead men shall live, (together with) my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out her dead,” Here is the resurrection of the Jew. t’Come, my people, enter into thy chambers .... hide thyself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast/* — this same indignation of which we have been speaking, ver. 21, “For behold, the Lord cometh out of his place, to; punish the inhabitants of the earth.”

God had been, so to speak, concealed; He had allowed the evil to go on: but, dear friends, what a thought! Think of God coming out of His place! When we consider our inability to make head against wickedness, — how Christians tremble at the sight of the increase of evil, hardly knowing what to do; while they see, on the one hand, the proud self-will of man, and on the other this unexpected and inexplicable tendency to superstition — the powers of darkness under this form having invaded even countries which were delivered from it, and who are trembling at it; I say, then, it is precious, in face of all this, to know that God will come. out of His place. True, it will be in anger for the moment, — in anger against the wickedness, and to put it away; but also, that good may be before His face, and before our eyes who are fatigued with what we behold. On this account we can bear the idea of judgment, and even cry, “How long!” And oh, how happy to think of an indignation which will change active evil into rest, blessing, peace, liberty and freedom from the yoke of sin, as soon as the Lord Jesus shall have executed His judgment! We are not now speaking of the Church, (although this is the most precious part,) but of this poor world labouring under the yoke of Satan. For even when good has been effected, evil gains ground on all sides.

The apostle could well say, “The whole creation groaneth,” &c. We understand — we who know the secret of the goodness of God — that it groans; “ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit,” must “groan within ourselves,” unless we should withdraw ourselves from theloveof God, and from the groanings of the Spirit within us. And the more we observe the progress of evil, the more we shall feel the need of this indignation of God, — that His power maybe felt in executing judgment in this world: and if faith is strong in our hearts, it will engage us in helping out, by the activity of love, all those we can from this necessary judgment, whether this fearful act is likely to fall on them, owing to the natural energy of sin in their hearts, or from the superstitions and errors to which they are attached by education; for it will fall upon whatever seduces the heart, as it is said, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partaker of her sins,” &c, Rev. xviii. We see then, that it is the judgment which will take away the power of evil, and for this it 19, that the appeal is made to the saints, &c, in the Apocalypse, to rejoice in the destruction of Babylon. It will be a terrible judgment; but, until it happens, a poison, a venom, corrupts every thing, when even one’s own self is withdrawn from it.

I have been led into this digression on the subject of the judgment of God, on account of the ending of Isaiah xxvi, which I quoted, and to explain the application of the resurrection to the Jewish people. I will mention another passage in Ezekiel xxxvii, that * of the dry bones, which will help you to understand this point. It is often quoted as having reference to souls; and, morally, no doubt, the same effect happens to those who are quickened of God; but the only subject of the chapter, is the nation of Israel, and not at- all souls. “Son of man, (ver. 11) these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold they say (in captivity) our bones are dried.” This is not what dead

souls say; therefore (ver. 12) prophesy thus

saith the Lord God, Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.” The Israelites, when they return, are treated as if they had been buried among the nations. “Then shall ye know that I am the Lord.” It would be sad to remain there in the land, if it was a literal resurrection; for the hope of those who are literally raised is far higher.

The prophet continues with the history of the two sticks, Judah and Israel, which are to become one, when “one king shall be king to them all,” Ezek. xxxvii, 22. Nothing can be clearer than that the subject of the chapter is the deliverance and blessing of Israel by Jesus Christ. Daniel xii also treats of Israel coming out of the graves — buried among the Gentiles; but it omits the final result under Christ. Many, it says, shall awake, not all, and of these some shall be for everlasting contempt, as some will be for eternal life. This part is added, as I said before, because the main concern of the prophecy was with the Holy Land and the Jews residing there. But other Jews will be manifested in the times which precede the final deliverance of Israel; and the Spirit of God, consequently, speaks of these latter in this passage.

The contents of these first verses apply in their results to the Jewish remnant, whose deliverance terminates that time of distress during which Michael stood fast, and delineates all that takes place during that period. It is the deliverance of the remnant and that of the people, — all those written in the book.

But besides, among those who are delivered, will be some who will be in the front of the battle, as being occupied with the things of God, and who will di&c&rcw the times: thus “And they that he wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that tarn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever.” If you have paid attention to the preceding chapter, you will recognise these wise ones: they are a remnant who have been often mentioned 3 as in chap, xi, 35, “and some of them of understanding,” &c: ver. 33 also, “they that understand,* Maschilim. It will be an enlightened remnant: persons who will discern the times, and who will occupy themselves with the welfare of the mass of the people, and that, faithfully, according to the light they will possess. “And they that turn (the) many to righteousness; 9 * (or rather,” instructed the many in righteousness,* 9 this was the object of their labours.) There is no thought about evangelising, nor of those who are blessed through evangelising. The prophet is speaking solely of those Jews who shall be engaged in the instruction of the mass of the people, with a view of withdrawing them from the deceitful ways of Antichrist, and from all the evil which he will carry on. Those who have thus laboured among the many, will “shine as the stars for ever and ever:” this special remnant is mentioned, as before said, in Isaiah lxv, lxvi. (») These are the closing circumstances of the remnant; viz., this time of distress; the people delivered, that is, the remnant; many who were buried, as it were, among the nations, who shall awake, whether for good or evil; and the special lot of the understanding ones.

There is still, at the end of the chapter, the reply to the question of Daniel, as to the duration of these things, of which the solution, for the Jews, was concealed until the time of the end.

We are in the time of the end, for it is to be hoped that all will soon finish; but, in another sense, the

(*) Some little doabt as been thrown on my mind as to this.

Church is always in the time of the end; because the Church does not belong to the present age; as it is said, 1 John ii, 18, “As ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many Antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.” Now, seeing this, “they that be wise,” will apply morally to the Church, so far as she preserves the place which the Word of God gives her, although she is not the direct object of the prophecy. The Church is supposed to know that the last days are arrived, and that the prophetic warnings are important, in order that that day overtake us not as a thief; for to be overtaken is not the proper portion of the Church. Compare 1 Thess. v, 4, &&, and Rev. iii, 3. And hence also in the Apocalypse (feeble as we are in the comprehension of it) it is written, “Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand. What is said to Daniel is exactly the reverse of the position of the Church, which, having an unction from the Holy One, knows all things; but in Daniel it is said, “shut up the book, and seal the words, till the time of the end.”

Verses 7, 9, 10.” And when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished. And I heard but I

understood not And he said .... the words

are closed and sealed up until the time of the end... but the wise shall understand.” Now, so to speak, the Church is the faithful remnant, for the Church commenced with the understanding remnant of the Jews — such was its beginning. Thus in the Apocalypse one is encouraged to hear and to keep the words of the book, and intelligence (o) is supposed among Christians.

(o) We must distinguish between the intelligence of, and the application to oneself of, these prophecies, whatever the application may he. What was revealed to Abraham concerned Lot.

Verse 11. “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate, set up, there shall be 1290 days; blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 days.” There is something striking in this answer, as concerns the Jews. The Lord Jesus uses the same date, omitting these days added at the end; otherwise He gives the same point of departure. The date does not begin until the last half-week; because, until then, there is no event to furnish an epoch from which one can commence counting; the position being then also definite and decided. There is a previous half week, during which the prince that shall come will be in covenant with the people at Jerusalem; but that which notably fixes the time of distress to the Jews, (and this is the subject before us,) is the abomination of desolation. set up in the holy place at Jerusalem; and this is at the beginning of the last half week.

This being the principal thing, I doubt whether there is any date whatever in the Word as to the general course of the prophecy, or for the time which elapses between the rejection of Jesus and His return. That there may have been events adapted to the prophetic facts, analogous in principle, during the interval, I do not doubt; and events most important to recognise in their moral features. Many eminent Christians have sought to calculate these dates; but my conviction is, that all these will be found wrong in the fact. Some have indicated 1844, and some 1847; I have made them myself in my time; it is not, then, to. blame others, that I say I do not think there is any basis for a true calculation: and I doubt whether the Lord has fixed any other date, than that of the half, week of Daniel, when the abomination, &c, is set up.

The prophecy speaks of seventy weeks; but almost all Christians allow, that these have passed, except the. seventieth one, and that at the end of the sixty-ninth’ the Lord was upon earth. Moreover, the date of a time, times, and half a time, has reference entirely to Jerusalem; and it is not a period of years at all, but simply of days; for this date is given us at the end of the chapter, after the sacrifice has been taken away, and after the setting up of the abomination. Now the words of the Lord Himself afford a complete proof that it has no reference to centuries any more than to Christendom: for He speaks of a special time; of certain persons in peculiar circumstances, interested in and occupied with what occurs at Jerusalem, — of women with child, — of the time which it takes to flee to the mountains, — of the season of the year suiting that flight, — and of the sabbath day. Neither could we suppose that there would be signs in the sun during centuries, <fcc, <fcc. It is of these things that Matt. xxiv speaks, as being identified with “the 1260 days,” and “a time, times, and half a time.”

I will just recall to your memories my previous division of Matt. xxiv. We must keep in mind the occasion of the reply of our Lord to His disciples. He had passed judgment on the Jewish people, at the end of chap, xxiii, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, &c. ... for I say unto you, ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Here is a positive judgment passed, and upon the nation as such; there is no question of individuals; for He does not say to individuals “ye shall not see me.” And so it must be the nation, or a remnant of it at least, and at a time yet to come, who will say to Jesus, “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” The high priests themselves have never said it; on the contrary, their language was, “Away with him, crucify him.” The Lord had previously pronounced their judgment; but it is of the nation that He says, “Ye shall not see me henceforth, until” &c. It is a quotation from Ps. cxviii, remarkable for its prophetic announcement of the rejection of Him who was to be acknowledged at a later time.

To pass then to Matt, xxiv, 1, &c., “And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple; and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple;” for they were yet imbued with a Jewish feeling. Verse 3. “And the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world” (age)? They supposed that what the Lord had said about the temple, would take place when the Messiah should return; and they asked when these things should happen.

Observe the expression, “end of the age.” When the Lord uses it, He does not speak of Christianity: it was not then established. TV hen His disciples said 41 the qge, n they had no thought about Christianity; they spoke about the Jewish age, in which the Messiah was expected; the age of the Law until the Messiah should come for the Jews. Their question was, when shall the end of that age be I

Now from ver. 4 — 14, Jesus tells them the circumstances which should take place: these are warnings; and He adds some circumstances which should happen before ‘* the end of the age;” that is to say, He closes the account of the Jewish remnant which should endure to the end. At ver. 14, Jesus details another event: “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world;... and then shall the end come;” that is, not only certain things should happen to His disciples; but also, there should be the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom, throughout the habitable world, and then should the end come.

Then He commences His particular instructions to His disciples who should be at Jerusalem at “the end of the age.” As He had spoken of the Jewish nation, ao here He speaks to His disciples; addressing in their persons the remnant which should be found at the end:” When ye, therefore, shall see the abomination .... stand in the holy place, then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains.’* Nothing can be more evident than that the Lord speaks of a precise time, and not of something which happens morally, and which may be distributed, so to speak, over centuries;

thus, “neither let him which is in the field”

“woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck,” &c, “Pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day.” It is impossible not to perceive that the last allusion is to Jews who would not venture to go further than a certain distance on the sabbath day.

Verse 2L “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be,” We are here absolutely in the time of distress (predicted in Dan. xii, and Jeremiah xxx, 7) at Jerusalem, to be followed by the deliverance of the people of Daniel, at least of the remnant, and by the establishment of the Jews in Palestine, with David (Christ) as their king.

But before this unequalled period of tribulation, there will be the “the beginning of sorrows.” Matt, xxiv, 8. And whenever the abomination is placed, there will be 1290 days, with 45 added, before there is a complete deliverance at Jerusalem. The 45 days added will introduce all that the faithful remnant could desire in order to their happiness. St. Mark agrees with all this; they both pursue the history until the manifestation of Jesus;” Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there, believe it not, (p)

(p) This, to me, is a convincing proof that this passage does not apply, properly speaking, to the Church; because our expectation is to be caught up into the air to meet Jesus. To tell us He is in the desert, would, of itself, prove an impostor, for we are to be in the air with Him befocmoa cml V*><0omc for there shall arise false Christs <.... For as the lightning (vef. 27) cometh out of the east, and shineth even Unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Bon of man be; for wheresoever the carcase is* there will the eagles be gathered together.” There where the dead body of the Jewish people is, the visitation of God will come.

“What shall be the sign of thy coming V the nation will have no sign for its instruction, although fearful signs will be there. This is the answer to the nation ; — Christ shall come as the lightning. In heaven only, there will be a sign at the moment of His appearing suddenly; I do not say what the sign is, but there will be one there when He comes: “They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Matt, xxiv, 30*

I will add a few remarks as to Luke xxi. There is a difference; for Luke does not occupy himself in the same manner with Jewish details. It is not the gospel of the Jewish kingdom. The only question of the disciples is, “When shall these things be?” It is not about “the end of the age.” It applies only to that which should happen at the destruction of Jerusalem. When Titus took it, more or less of those fearful events took place, similar to what will happen at the end; but it is not the same thing as the time “such as never was.” There will be great earthquakes, &c. Head down to ver. 10.

In Luke’s gospel, there is more reference to evangelizing in a direct manner, although the result, as to testimony, is the same: “ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake.” “In your patience possess ye your souls.” But there is not a word about the abomination of desolation. “When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.” And this was accomplished ia the siege of Jerusalem which has already taken place, as history testifies. Possibly, there may be similar features when the nations shall surround Jerusalem; but no mention is made in Luke of a time of distress, such as never was, and the interval between the fall of Jerusalem and the fulfilling the times of the Gentiles is distinctly predicted. What is said is, “There shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people,” and they “shall be led away captives into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down until the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled.” This is altogether another matter. There is no account of any deliverance of the Jews. It is not said, “Blessed is he .... that cometh to the 1335 days;” but, on the contrary, Jerusalem is trodden down untH the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled; things are left in this state by the recital; the events following it being applicable down to the end, but accomplished in the desolation of Jerusalem by Titus. Then ver. 25, “There shall be signs in the sun and in the moon.” Generally speaking, Luke does not answer to the exact accomplishment of the prophecies of Daniel, but principally to those whose fulfilment is now passed, and which Jesus set forth to His disciples, to influence their conduct, according to their particular question, ver. 7; and the signs which He gives (ver. 24^ 25) are applicable rather to the Gentiles, than to Jerusalem and the Jews.

But to conclude. Dan. xii, 7. “It shall be for a, time, times, and a half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.” This is another proof that this date relates to the end; for it is evident that he has not accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people. They are still scattered. “And I heard, but I understood not.”

We are not to conceive of the “end of the indignation,” as if it was the complete and entire re-estjabfishtnent of the Jews in all their privilege*. Whe» the indignation is over, then the Christ, — God, and the Christ in the name of God, — takes Israel as His people, to begin to establish them fully. The Jews having again become the people of God, He begins to put them into the enjoyment of all their privileges; and Christ begins to appropriate to Himself His rights as Messiah.

“None of the wicked shall understand.” (ver. 10.) It will be the same in the Christian apostacy. “God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie;” “but the wise shall understand.” “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away .... there shall be 1290 days.’ 9 I have no knowledge why there should be the addition of these 30 days to 1260, unless it be an indication that after the end of the half week, during which the Antichrist prospers, there will yet be needed 30 days, before the final blessing to the Jews comes in.” Blessed is He that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 days,*’ — for then the people will evidently be in a state of blessing. But, as I before said, Daniel gives no explanation or detail of this happiness, because the aim of the book is to shew the care which God takes of the remnant, during the time of its sojourn (and this was Daniel’s case) among the Gentiles. Other prophecies speak of their happy position after their re-settlement; but Daniel limits himself to the expression that they shall be blessed.

“But go thou thy way .... and thou shalt stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” Thou shalt enjoy all this blessedness, be not troubled; God will take care of this, thou shalt have thy part in it all. We know that it is at the first resurrection — the resurrection of the saints — that Daniel will partake of this, in company with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all those who have been faithful in every epoch.

We have now arrived at the conclusion of this remarkable book. I have not pretended to anything more than to give you its great features, such as God has, as yet, shewn them to me. By their help you may be enabled to proceed further for yourselves. May God bless His Word.